1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with inner and outer housings.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,378 and FIG. 16 herein relate to a connector. With reference to FIG. 16, the connector has outer and inner housings 1 and 2. The outer housing 1 has a receptacle 3 and the inner housing 2 is mountable into the receptacle 3 from the front. A lock 4 is formed on an outer surface of the inner housing 2 and a receiving portion 5 projects from an inner surface of the receptacle 3. The lock 4 engages the receiving portion 5 for holding the inner housing 2 in the receptacle 3. A step 6 is formed at the back of the receptacle 3 and the rear end of the inner housing 2 contacts the step 6 to position the inner housing 2. The outer housing 1 also has cavities 7 for receiving terminal fittings 8. Further, a retainer 9 is mountable into the inner housing 2 for locking the terminal fittings 8 in the cavities 7.
A locking surface 5a of the receiving portion 5 is opposed to the step 6. Accordingly, the outer housing 1 must be molded with molds that open and close along forward and backward directions plus a slidable mold that is slidable along a widthwise direction to form the locking surface 5a of the receiving portion 5.
The slidable mold leads to high costs and requires space for a driving construction for the slidable mold. Thus, there has been a restriction on the size of produceable connectors and it has been difficult to produce small connectors.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problems and an object thereof is to miniaturize a connector while reducing production costs.